The Story:

Once a rich man invited his friends to a feast. He could not get any fish and was willing to pay any price for it. A fisherman happened to come there with a very fine fish. But the gatekeeper did not let him in, until he had promised to pay him half of what he would get for it.

The rich man was greatly pleased to see the fish. But he was surprised to hear the fisherman demand a hundred lashes on his bare back as its price. He failed to persuade him to ask for anything else. So he asked a servant to give him a hundred lashes as gently as possible. When he had received fifty, he cried out, “Stop! Stop! I have partner in this business.” The rich man asked him, in great astonishment who is companion was. He told him the whole story. The rich man dismissed the gatekeeper at once, and gave the clever fisherman a good sum as the price of the fish.